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Boston Celtics (38-12) at Charlotte Bobcats (21-29)
Monday, February 7
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #51, Road Game #24
TV: CSNNE, SSO-CHA, NBA-LP 751/752
Radio: WEEI, WFNZ
Time Warner Cable Arena Probable Starters PG.....
SG......SF......
PF......
CRajon Rondo.....Ray Allen ..... Paul Pierce.....Kevin Garnett..... Kendrick Perkins
Boston Bench Mob Glen Davis
Semih Erden
Luke Harangody
Nate Robinson
Von Wafer
Injured Jermaine O'Neal (knee) out
Delonte West (wrist) out
Shaquille O'Neal (hip/Achilles) day to day
Marquis Daniels (spinal chord) out
D-LeagueAvery Bradley
Probable StartersPG......
SG.....
SF.....
PF .....
CDJ Augustin........Stephen Jackson....Gerald Wallace........Boris Diaw........Kwame Brown
Bobcats Bench Derrick Brown
Shawn Livingston
Dominic McGuire
Eduardo Najera
Matt Carroll
Gerald Henderson
Nazr Mohammed
Sherron Collins
Injuries DeSagana Diop (Achilles) out
Tyrus Thomas (knee) out
Team Connections D.J. Augustin and Avery Bradley both attended the University of Texas
Matt Carroll and Luke Harangody both attended Notre Dame
Sherron Collins and Paul Pierce both attended the University of Kansas
Rajon Rondo and Nazr Mohammed both attended the University of Kentucky
Tyrus Thomas, Glen Davis and Shaquille O’Neal all attended Louisiana State
University
DeSagana Diop, Stephen Jackson and Rajon Rondo all attended Oak Hill Academy
Shaquille O’Neal and Boris Diaw were teammates in Phoenix during the 2008-09 season
Kwame Brown and Von Wafer were teammates on the 2005-06 Los Angeles Lakers
Shaun Livingston and Von Wafer were teammates on the 2006-07 Los Angeles Clippers
Eduardo Najera and Von Wafer were teammates in Denver during the 2007-08 season
Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal were teammates in Indiana from 2004-07
The Celtics and Bobcats share the Maine Red Claws as their D-League affiliate
Game NotesThis should be an easy game against a sub .500 team for the Celtics sandwiched between games against contenders. It should be an easy game, but for some reason, sometimes the Celtics forget to show up in games that should be easy. It would be easy to take the Bobcats for granted after facing the Mavs and Magic in their last 2 games and looking forward to another game vs the Lakers on Thursday and then another big game vs the Heat after that.
The Celtics are 2-0 vs the Bobcats so far this season, winning big (92-62 in Charlotte and not so big (99-94) in Boston so far. They have one more meeting after this one. The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games while the Bobcats have been off since their loss to the Mavs on Saturday. The Celtics are 6-6 so far this season in the second of back to back games.
The Celtics have never lost a season series to the Bobcats. They swept the series 3-0 last season. The Celtics are 18-5 overall all time against the Bobcats and 8-3 on the road all time vs the Bobcats.
The Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 15-8 on the road. The Bobcats are 6-4 in their last 10 games and 12-12 at home. The Bobcats have lost their last two while the Celtics are coming off a big win over the Magic.
Key Matchups vs
Ray Allen vs Stephen Jackson
Jackson is the Bobcats' leading scorer and much of the offense goes through him. Ray has been on a hot streak and hopefully will stay that way in this one. He needs to make Jackson work on defense and Ray needs to limit Jackson's effectiveness on the offensive end. Ray also needs to take care of the ball as Jackson also leads the Bobcats in steals.
vs
Rajon Rondo vs DJ Augustin
As I've said many times, as Rondo goes, so go the Celtics. When Rondo is aggressive in running the team and playing his game, the Celtics as a team are more aggressive and tend to play well. When Rondo is passive, the Celtics tend to be also and that is when they get beaten by teams that they should beat and this is a team that the Celtics should beat.
Honorable Mention Kevin Garnett vs Boris Diaw
Diaw has been a bit out of shape this season and if KG is aggressive in this game he should be able to get whatever he wants on the offensive end.
Keys to the GameFocus and Energy - When the Celtics face teams with losing records, they often come out flat and lack focus and energy and that is why teams like Washington have been able to beat them. The Celtics have got to stay focused and play with energy the entire game because the Bobcats always play hard and will take advantage of any lapse from the Celtics.
Defense - The Celtics need to make defense their priority. Games are won on the defensive end. The effort that the Celtics put out on the defensive end carries over to the offensive end as well.
Rebound - Good things happen when the Celtics crash the boards. When they show energy in rebounding, that energy spreads to other areas of the game. They prevent second chance points and fast break baskets by grabbing the rebounds and that is important because of the effort that the Bobcats play with.
Be Aggressive - When the Celtics are the more aggressive team they usually win. They need to be aggressive in going to the basket, in grabbing rebounds, and in hustling after loose balls.
X-FactorFatigue
The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games after a tough game vs the Magic the night before. Hopefully they don't run out of gas before the end of this one.